Architect – Overrated!

by Subbu Allamaraju on February 4, 2012 · 202 comments

  • You always talk about the big picture.
  • You think you know how the system ought to be built.
  • You are unhappy that the team is not executing your ideas the way you want them.
  • You don’t have a working build.
  • You spend a lot of time on documents that are not code.
  • You can prototype – but your code is not production worthy.
  • You spend too much time in meetings.
  • The best code you wrote is a few years old.
  • When asked for opinions you tend to speak in general terms.
  • Your team members secretly joke about you.
  • You start to take analysts and tech blogs too seriously.
  • You are a dinosaur.

Code. Don’t wiki. Don’t powerpoint.

{ 201 comments… read them below or add one }

Adam Driscoll (@adamdriscoll) February 8, 2012 at 3:26 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Richard Seroter (@rseroter) February 8, 2012 at 3:26 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/6O9tdtnx << “If you want to be an architect, you better be the best in the team.”

Reply

miguel angel huerta (@hgmiguel) February 8, 2012 at 3:26 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Rex (@DiggnosaurusRex) February 8, 2012 at 3:27 pm

“@Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/X4kJx1Pp #programming” :)

Reply

Jared Blitzstein (@jcblitz) February 8, 2012 at 3:28 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

McKensy (@MrMcKensy) February 8, 2012 at 3:28 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Andrew Bezzub (@abezzub) February 8, 2012 at 3:28 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Oliver O'Mahony (@oliveromahony) February 8, 2012 at 3:28 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Andy Lapin (@andylapin) February 8, 2012 at 3:29 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Rob Gomes (@robgomes) February 8, 2012 at 3:29 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Murillo Parreira (@murifox) February 8, 2012 at 3:29 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Alberto Perdomo (@albertoperdomo) February 8, 2012 at 3:29 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

odin88 (@odin88) February 8, 2012 at 3:30 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Byron Ruth (@thedevel) February 8, 2012 at 3:32 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Jonas Elfström (@jonelf) February 8, 2012 at 3:32 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Erik Heneby (@ErikHeneby) February 8, 2012 at 3:33 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

jeffrydegrande (@jeffrydegrande) February 8, 2012 at 3:33 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Richie Rump (@Jorriss) February 8, 2012 at 3:35 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/KZIaGFeq #programming

Reply

Raúl Beltrán (@espiritudelvino) February 8, 2012 at 3:36 pm

@Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/cXu4oXjF #programming

Reply

technicaljoe (@technicaljoe) February 8, 2012 at 3:36 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Markus Thurlin (@truppo) February 8, 2012 at 3:36 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Raul Murciano (@happywebcoder) February 8, 2012 at 3:36 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

ilyasdeen (@ilyasdeen) February 8, 2012 at 3:37 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Hector Bavio (@HRBG) February 8, 2012 at 3:38 pm

Architect – Overrated! http://t.co/iV5M09iM

Reply

Daniela (@daniela_hd) February 8, 2012 at 3:39 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Rajesh Sharma (@raj3shsharma) February 8, 2012 at 3:40 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Camilo Cortes (@camiloacm) February 8, 2012 at 3:41 pm

RT @codinghorror: RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/WOa6miay #programming

Reply

Eduardo Costa (@srecosta) February 8, 2012 at 3:41 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Mike Hewitson (@mikehewitson) February 8, 2012 at 3:42 pm

“@Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/m64mxTZr #programming” /cc @mcsnootch ;)

Reply

Nate Zobrist (@zobie) February 8, 2012 at 3:44 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Matthew Frank (@unacoderX) February 8, 2012 at 3:46 pm

please note that i didn’t say it. this time. http://t.co/L4LPmTRP “#architect” #fb

Reply

Ernesto Badillo (@ernestobad) February 8, 2012 at 3:46 pm

Esto describe perfectamente a casi todos los arquitectos en el mundo de las consultorías de software http://t.co/fABsi7zQ via @codinghorror

Reply

Jeremy Fensch (@jfensch) February 8, 2012 at 3:51 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Jim B February 8, 2012 at 3:56 pm

While I appreciate where these feelings come from, I think you would be better served by spending your obviously well tuned brain cells to the problem of…

“How do I improve my relationship with my architect?”

I certainly hope you emailed him this link to your post.

Reply

rbf_ February 8, 2012 at 4:02 pm

While in the vast majority of cases I agree. On large projects however they are needed to counteract 1st line engineering managers. Who often have their team deliver and work on only tasks that the manager has been assigned as deliverables. Which is often in conflict with what’s needed for the project to succeed. Like the task x that nobody committed too but is critical. Or the managers agreed on an illogical partitioning of tasks.

It can also be useful to have a technical track for developers that has levels up the Director or VP level. Not just for career growth but also for escalating serious technical issues up above any territorial engineering manager dispute, which happen more and more as the project size increases. There’ nothing worse than a whole group of 1st line engineering managers who all successfully completed all their tasks lists on time and boom a six month slip. Especially when the developers knew it would happen the whole time.

You see these issues with really large releases like operating systems. Not so much with small teams. Nothing worse than breaking your but for six months on a project you know is doomed.

Reply

Nathalie Desjardins (@ncdesjardins) February 8, 2012 at 4:14 pm

LOL, so true with some S/W architects! RT @Carnage4Life Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/cOaItWZN #programming

Reply

Kyle Sun (@interskh) February 8, 2012 at 4:15 pm

Architect – Overrated! http://t.co/U3zSTJTI

Reply

Tommy Turkijevic (@tommyturkijevic) February 8, 2012 at 4:16 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Ralph Petrenz (@Ralph42x) February 8, 2012 at 4:20 pm
rbf_ February 8, 2012 at 4:30 pm

It’s critical to have an initial design that is well baked as they say. When you have lots of groups from vastly different technical backgrounds working it can be difficult. It sometimes comes down to what unknowns/risks you are willing to accept. I’ve seen at least one project completely fail due to issues that could have been pointed on day one. But that was just a bad job or probably more a case of someone not realizing that they didn’t have the background to lead the design for that project.

Reply

rbf_ February 8, 2012 at 4:35 pm

And I’m a C/C++ developer who has delivered at least one subsystem on every release I’ve worked save one. And I was switched to that project after it slipped and was forced to be the release manager (and I still fixed bugs).

Reply

Matt Hornyak (@dandyhighwayman) February 8, 2012 at 4:56 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Andrew Pierce (@bangbangandrew) February 8, 2012 at 5:05 pm

Architect – Overrated! http://t.co/cIh09foi

Reply

rbf_ February 8, 2012 at 5:06 pm

And if your still not convinced in the importance of good technical leadership… I worked at one company that would develop or buy two versions of the same product. By different teams of people, group A and B. Then after evaluating various metrics like performance, maintainability, performance against schedule, ease of adding new features, sales/customer feedback would choose a winner. Say group A. They they fired the entire “losing” team, group B. Which team would you want to be on? The one with good experienced technical leadership or the one where you had to hope that your engineering manager didn’t do performance reviews based on but kissing?

Reply

Tomasz Kowalczyk (@tmmx) February 8, 2012 at 5:09 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

broschb (@broschb) February 8, 2012 at 5:16 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Francisco Lopes (@pepper_chico) February 8, 2012 at 5:17 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Tesfaye (@TesBet) February 8, 2012 at 5:19 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Matthew Kane (@matthewkane) February 8, 2012 at 6:04 pm

I am NOT that kind of architect. I code! RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/02L2RIOj #programming

Reply

Paul Giberson (@aknosis) February 8, 2012 at 6:16 pm

RT @Carnage4Life: Architect: Overrated! – http://t.co/JdwElDyN #programming

Reply

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: